(Review updated after 1 year of usage)
Purpose : For my wife to commute to office daily, about 36Km a day.
Scooters Considered : Activa, Hero Honda Pleasure, Pep+
This is the story in Bangalore, Oct 2006. I booked for hero honda pleasure first considering the Mobile phone offer, and knowing that it has the same engine as Activa. It looked like a value for money deal. But the dealer made me run around for 1 month without giving me proper commitments. So this scooter got trashed out.
When I looked out for Activa, the waiting period for is more 2 months, I did not have that much time to wait and I think I did not wait for my car also so much ;)
Pep+, book today and ride home the scooter tomorrow. Great, that is what I needed most.
Comments on Pep+,
For Novice -
Power/Pickup : Very decent enough for singles. Initial pickup is good, but not impressive after 40Kmph. Doubles is also not a issue though a small drop in pickup. (I have nothing to crib about this).
Update (1 year later) : Pickup is good enough. Able to reach 60kmph easily, no vibrations or unusual feeling at that speed. U cannot make the bike go more than 60 ... I think there is some kind of speed limiter installed.
Top Speed : 60Kmph, anything more will be torturing the machine. (Well, that is a very fast machine for Bangalore roads ;) ).
Mileage : 48Km/Lit , Before first servicing. (This is one of the best part).
Cost on road with accessories : ~41K (Thats actually expensive compared to Activa which is 45K).
Update (1 year later) : Mileage about 50-52 Km/lt. Quite consistent.
Techies - Please refer to the company website.
General remarks :
- Quite easy to ride and balance. Good for ladies.
Update (1 year later) : Well, even I like riding this bike, nothing girlish in this bike.
Braking is decent enough.
Ground clearance quite low, when on doubles bad roads is a issue.
Engineering is excellent, should be cheap to maintain compared to any other scooter for ladies category.
Suspensions are good.
Added features like Economy meter is nonsense ! If U are a good rider, you should already be knowing that Full throttle is bad driving.
Update (1 year later) : The idle Economy meter should be connected to the engine RPM, but this one is just connected to the throttle !! Test it yourself, put the ignition key (do not turn on the engine), make sure the green lamp glows, raise the throttle ... U see that even without the engine running the red lamp glows ;)
Kick starter is a problem. I suppose this is a TVS trademark. I have a TVS XL, which also has the same problem of kickstarter getting stuck/slip. BTW, this is a Electric start Vehicle.
Purchased and Serviced the scooter at Megdooth motors Bangalore. Very happy with the interaction I had. (I purchased TVS XL from Guptha Motors, CMH Road Bangalore. He is a cheat and and good for nothing dealer).
If compared to activa for the kind of usage my wife has, I save some significant amount of fuel. That makes me happy.
Update (1 year later) : The only problem I encountered till now is the squeaking sound the bike makes when taking off from still. This problem I have observed in other scooties as well. The issue is with the clutch plate ... which needed some cleaning.